Marmion to host annual drill meet

Submitted by Marmion Academy

On Saturday, Jan. 28, Marmion Academy’s Flannigan Rifles JROTC Military Drill Team will host the eighth annual Colonel Earl K. Buchan Invitational Drill Meet, set to begin at 8 a.m. and conclude with an awards ceremony at approximately 5:30 p.m.

The meet, which is free and open to the public, will be the first to take place in Marmion’s newly constructed Regole Field House, 1000 Butterfield Road in Aurora. For details, visit marmion.org or call (630) 897-6936.

Flannigan Rifles, in its 64th year of existence, is directed by Sergeant Major John Gissel, USA (Retired), a 1969 graduate of Marmion Academy. The team is made up of more than 60 JROTC students. As hosts, Marmion’s nationally ranked teams will perform but will not compete for trophies.

The dining hall will be open for breakfast, lunch and snacks throughout the day. This is an opportunity for junior high students interested in attending Marmion Academy to witness the thrill of a drill team performance.

Schools from throughout Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky will compete in duet, color guard, armed regulation inspection, armed regulation platoon, unarmed exhibition platoon, armed exhibition squad, and armed exhibition platoon.

Spectators will witness the rivalry between nationally ranked female teams and Louisville, Ky. natives, The Marine Corps JROTC Lady Leathernecks from Fern Creek High (first place in 2011) and the Seneca High Lady Redhawks (second place in 2011) will compete at Buchan.

Flannigan Rifles competes in approximately six regional drill meets, and this year will additionally compete in the Army Nationals in Louisville, Ky. The season culminates with a trip to Daytona Beach, Fla., to compete in the National High School Drill Team Championships.

At the end of the 2011 season, Flannigan Rifles placed third overall in the nation. The Armed Exhibition Squad took first place in the nation and the Armed Exhibition Platoon also took the first in the nation.